Smartphone showdown is win, win, win

While Blackberry has recently introduced Blackberry 10, the loss of market share by the once dominant company, or perhaps more importantly, the loss of mind share, may be unrecoverable.

While Blackberry has recently introduced Blackberry 10, the loss of market share by the once dominant company, or perhaps more importantly, the loss of mind share, may be unrecoverable.

Rumors continue to circulate about one of the main smartphone leaders buying Blackberry to absorb it into their own offerings. What has emerged is three major players — Apple, Google and Microsoft.

Apple's iPhone is the clear market leader. There is little question about this. Even though Google's Android outsells Apple nearly every month, the iPhone is the standard that all others aspire to be. It's both good and bad to be the market leader. Just ask Microsoft. You can set the standard, but then every competitor in the industry will set their sights on knocking you off that top spot on the podium.

Like the coveted Olympic medal stand, the smartphone winners look like this: Apple has the gold medal, Google the silver, and Microsoft the bronze, for now. Google will dispute this with sales and activation figures, but as I've already said, there is little doubt that the iPhone rules the roost.

Microsoft was thought to be a complete loser in the smartphone race, but with the recent release of Windows Phone 8, coming on the heels of the release of Windows 8 for the personal computer, Microsoft is clearly back in the game. The fundamental question is whether they can take market share away from Apple and Google.

The battle will mainly be for mind share. We all know iPhone and we all know Android. People love both and will go the mat to declare their smartphone or tablet the best there is, period. Microsoft has received some very favorable reviews for the Windows 8 platform; the question is whether buyers will choose it over the other options.

I recently tested a new Windows 8 phone from Verizon and HTC. Verizon will periodically send me new devices to review, and this was the latest I had the chance to test. I have used both Android and iPhone as primary devices, and I do like both. The biggest issue I see with any of the mobile platforms is that you often make sacrifices and use limited versions of the tools you regularly use on your PC. Windows 8 hopes to change this by merging the user experience on the computer, smartphone and tablet.

The tiled screen you are seeing in all the advertisements for the Surface, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 is essentially identical across all three platforms. This is the key that may open Microsoft's resurgence in this space. Windows 8 looks, feels and operates nearly identically, with the only significant difference being the size of the screen you are working on.

I found the HTC Windows 8 phone to be a very good device. I haven't spent enough time with it to say that I like it as much as Android or the iPhone, but I can say that I definitely like it. The new interface of Windows 8 does take some getting used to, but once you get comfortable with it, it's quite intuitive and easy to work with.

The HTC hardware is nice, as expected. The phone has a rugged feel to it, though I would have preferred that the hardware buttons be a little more distinguished from the case and provide a little more feedback so I know that I've actually pressed the button. Aside from that one minor complaint, it's a solid piece of hardware. There are three soft keys on the bottom of the phone for the home screen, search and back functions.

The Windows Phone 8 software works as advertised. The live tiles are a nice touch as they let you see dynamic updates to different types of content on the Windows home screen. The tiles are responsive to taps, and moving between applications is smooth. The built-in mail and calendar apps work well and emulate the latest desktop versions of the same software. Like any new software, it takes a little getting used to, but not unreasonably so.

The 4G Internet service is fast, fast, fast. It provides a very robust Internet experience on the smartphone. Verizon's network is very fast and will hopefully remain so, as more and more 4G devices come online. All in all, the new Windows phone is a solid option. Whether it can grab market and mind share from its competitors, only time will tell.

My advice to you remains unchanged. If you are in the market for a new smartphone or tablet, be sure to check out each of the available options. Touch and play with each and see which feels more intuitive to you.

What you choose for one should be your choose for the other, so you are not buying apps more than once. While the Windows Store lacks in available apps today, it will most likely catch up as quickly as Google Play has with iTunes. Good luck with your choice. Whichever platform you decide on, you won't be disappointed.

MJ Shoer is president and virtual chief technology officer of Jenaly Technology Group Inc., Your Technology Concierge based in Portsmouth. You may read more about IT in business on his blog at http://mjsblog.jenaly.com and you may reach him at mshoer@jenaly.com.

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
seacoastonline.com ~ 111 New Hampshire Ave., Portsmouth, NH 03801 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service